Dear Friends,
Imagine with me... you walk into the grocery store and of the 100 people in the store, odds are, you
are the only Christian. You will probably run into 4 Muslims though...
If you live in Belgium, you don't have to imagine that at all... it's a daily reality. Unless you go to a bible study or Sunday worship or
purpose to hang out with a fellow believer, it's not very common to just 'run into' another Christian.
Living
in the 'Bible belt' of America I have become accustomed to working with
and running into believers around every corner.
Along with that comes an array of churches to choose from; every
worship, fellowship and preaching style possible. Did you know that
there are as many churches in the Columbia area as there are in the entire country of Belgium! (with a population of almost 11 million vs. 732,000 in the Columbia area.)
Most
churches in Belgium are small and many do not own their own facility.
It is very uncommon that a church actually has a conference or
fellowship room aside from the room they meet in to worship. This is
where OM Belgium's Conference Facility comes into play...
OM
Belgium's purpose is to slide alongside the local church and help them
fulfill their mission. This manifests itself in different ways,
including organized outreach events like Hope Brussels, (http://www.youtube.com/ombelgium), but also through providing a facility at low cost for churches, Christian organizations and mission agencies to
use for worship, training, meeting and lodging. In doing so, OM has partnered with hundreds
of groups and
individuals over the years.
I was pleasantly
surprised a few weeks back to hear that former GEM and Proclaim
International worker Dave Wegener had used this facility multiple times
over the years as he served and toured in Europe! (Dave goes to our church.)
And
this is where I fit in. My specific role with OM Belgium will be to
manage the conference facility. That will involve overseeing the
scheduling, accommodation, meals and transportation of the guests as
well as minor maintenance projects. Serving in and through a local
church will also be part of our ministry in Belgium and in doing so,
strengthening the local body of Christ! Every 'light' counts in this
'dark' country. Our presence alone will be an encouragement to the
church and a witness to the world!
Please pray with us for God to open the doors for us to move to Belgium fully supported.
Thank
you,
Jonathan & Family
http://zavcentre.be/
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